Table 1.
Characteristics of study participants.
| Parameter | ALSa | CONb | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 20 | 20 | 0.5 |
| Age (years old) | 53.9 ± 9.6 | 50.6 ± 12.6 | 0.434 |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 8 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Male | 12 | 12 | 0.5 |
| BMI (Kg/m2) | 22.8 ± 2.2 | 21.8 ± 3.2 | 0.148 |
| Peripheral neuropathy | 0 | 0 | – |
| Gastrointestinal tract diseases | 0 | 0 | – |
| History of gastrointestinal surgery | 0 | 0 | – |
| Diabetes | 2d | 0 | – |
| Dieting | 0 | 0 | – |
| Hypercholesterolemia treatment | 0 | 0 | – |
| Type of onset | |||
| Bulbar | 4 | – | – |
| Spinal | 16 | – | – |
| Duration(months) | 10.7 ± 1.6 | – | – |
| ALSFRS-R score | 38.4 ± 1.3 | – | – |
| ALSFRS-R point lossc | 7.4 ± 1.2 | – | – |
| Bulbar symptoms at the time of specimen collection | 13 | – | – |
| Enteral or parenteral nutrition | 0 | – | – |
| Non-invasive ventilation | 0 | – | – |
Most of the data is presented as mean ± SD.
aProbable or definite clinical diagnosis of ALS patients according to revised El Escorial criteria
bHealthy controls
cMean number of ALSFRS-R point loss from disease onset to specimen collection
dNeither of the two patients used drugs to control blood glucose nor were on a diet.